For several years, we have lived with the reality of pro-choice Catholics holding the highest levels of power. It’s something that causes many pro-lifers to see red. Yet the purpose of this column is not to tread that well worn path but rather to make the argument that it’s pro-choicers, in particular the media, who should see something of a red flag, or at least yellow, when a practicing Catholic is unable to see nuance about abortion in the political domain. And standing resolutely in favour of Canada’s extreme position on abortion is just that. 

On March 23, 2025, Global News asked Prime Minister Mark Carney this: “You are a practicing Catholic. You went to church before you visited the Governor General this morning.  Do you explicitly support a woman’s right to choose? And how will your faith impact your policy deliberations should you win this election?” 

Carney responded quickly: “I absolutely support a woman’s right to choose. Unreservedly. And will defend it as the Liberal Party has defended it, proudly and consistently. I will defend the Charter, proudly and consistently, as the Liberal party does.”

Advertisement

This is, I’m sure, what probably 99.9 percent of the mainstream media wish to hear. And this is why there are no follow up questions to speak of on this matter. Speaking the words Prime Minister Carney did are like a magic talisman. When Andrew Scheer ran, he failed this test by expressing that he is personally pro-life, going on to say he would not re-open the abortion debate, thereby angering everyone. Many hostile questions ensued, and we know how the story ended. 

Advertisement

Canada’s status quo on abortion is incredibly extreme. In Canada, “I support a woman’s right to choose” means support for sex selection abortion, coerced abortion, later term abortion and an environment in which babies are born alive and left to die after abortion, something declared in June 2024 study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology to be “common,” at least in Quebec. The lack of knowledge, and the lack of wanting to know amongst most members of the media remains a major obstacle to learning and publicizing what Canadians need to know. 

Canadians are generally more informed. In 2022, the Angus Reid Institute found only 52 percent of Canadians are “completely pro-choice” with 8 percent saying they are “completely pro-life” and 41 percent saying they are somewhere in between. What this means is 49 percent are not completely pro-choice. There’s nuance on this third rail issue of abortion, even, that thus far most Canadian politicians regardless of faith stance have failed to tap into.  

For Carney, it is utterly astounding that he manages to carry support for all forms of abortion at all times without uttering a word to couch this support. Some churches allow for a kind of passive naivete on what abortion is and what it does, but the Roman Catholic church has not traditionally been one of them. I have been to Anabaptist, Wesleyan and Evangelical churches in my adult life and in these churches, while the dominant posture was pro-life, there wasn’t really an active outcry from day to day over abortion. Enter the Roman Catholic church, and you will be confronted head on with a strong pro-life witness. Prayers from the pulpit to end abortion—common. It feels as though hardly a month goes by without someone praying for life from conception to natural death. The March for Life is advertised. And the charitable arm of the Catholic pro-life movement is likewise given high profile. This is a pro-life presence and witness unrivalled in other Christian churches. 

Advertisement

So, the question the media should ask, is how can it be that any Roman Catholic can declare themselves to be wholly supportive of one of the most extreme abortion policy positions (Canada’s) that exists in the world? 

I get it, the media love to play gotcha, and elections are not time for thinking through problems. Further, not every political candidate need be a champion of the unborn. The world is filled with problems demanding attention. But it should create a feeling of discord for everyone when anyone who is asked about abortion expresses a kind of robotic defence of the Charter. This ought to be heightened when a religious Christian, particularly a Catholic, stands up to say he is resolutely in favour of Canada’s regime of no restrictions on abortion whatsoever. All of us, pro-lifers and pro-choicers alike, should be concerned when we see it.